Scotch Whisky Cocktail Recipes

Recipes for cocktails containing Scotch Whisky. Explains the differences between Scotch Malt Whisky and a Blended Scotch whisky in both manufacture and taste.

One of the most pleasurable drinks must be Scotch Whisky, especially Malt Whisky. One reason for this is the flavors vary so much from distillery to distillery, and from region to region. A whisky connoisseur can tell by its flavor from which area of Scotland it originates, from which distillery it came, and may even be able to name the specific brand, so distinctive are the different Malts.

There are two kinds of Scotch Whisky: Malt Whisky - that is made by the Pot still process, and Grain Whisky – which is made using the Patent still process. When making Malt Whisky, only malted barley is used, but grain whisky is made using malted barley and unmalted barley combined with other cereals.

There are four stages in the making of Malt Whisky: Malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation. Malt Whisky is distilled twice in large copper stills. The first distillation seperates the alcohol from the fermented liquid and also removes any other matter that is unfermentable. The second distillation draws off the liquid at certain stages to preserve the strenght and flavour.

Grain whisky is normally made at large distilleries. It provides the bulk of blended whiskies, that we normally see on sale all over the world. A blender can mix up to two hundred different Malt and Grain Whiskies to achieve a stable blend. Blended whisky keeps a consistency of taste over the years, where the Malt can vary considerably from batch to batch.

Many people would consider making a cocktail using a Malt Whisky as a waste of good whisky. Why would anyone want to hide or disguise the natural subtle flavour of this wonderful drink? Personally I wouldn't use one to make a cocktail, but there are a few cocktail recipes around that call for a Malt to be used.

The more common Blended Whisky is an ideal base for a cocktail, and the recipes listed all use Blended Whisky. You can use any blended brand, it doesn't need to be any specific Scotch Whisky.